White Oak Tree Acorns

Ah, acorns. Acorns are the stuff of legends! One common quote is "From little acorns mighty oaks do grow." It helps us realize that even the smallest beginning can have a mighty ending! Another less known quote by Timothy Dexter is "An ungrateful man is like a hog under a tree eating acorns, but never looking up to see where they come from." Oak trees certainly are quite tall.

Acorns are the seeds of white oak trees. Plant an acorn and you might get an oak tree of your very own! Acorns are very important beyond their role in helping new trees grow, though. Poor little red squirrels cannot digest red oak acorns - they can ONLY eat white oak acorns along with other food substances. So in the winter, they have to make sure they get enough white oak acorns to last them the season!

All sorts of other creatures rely on acorns as well, from rabbits to mice, from deer to chipmunks. Acorns are nature's way of making sure creatures have something to eat until spring comes around again.

Even humans eat acorns. Acorns have been known for over 2,000 years as a food source, all the way back to the days of Greeks and Romans. Native Americans would use acorns in a number of ways. The acorn can be ground down into a nut flour, and then you can use that flour to make pancakes, muffins, bread, mush, stew, and all sorts of other things. They're high in potassium and vitamin B6. If your lawn is full of acorns, you have free food laying there wating to be eaten!

It's challenging to tell red oak acorns from white oak acorns, but the white oak acorns are a bit smaller.